‘music by women and composers of colour is not a separate set of pieces from the ones we know ’

Jan Smaczny is enthralled by Isabelle Faust’s unique approach to the demanding material of Bach’s little-known violin works JS Bach Sonatas for Violin and Continuo Isabelle Faust (violin); Kristin von

Patterns, says Clare Hammond. Learning a new piece, especially if you’re committing it to memory, and the clock is against you, is all about finding patterns. ‘If you can find patterns in a piece of m

Sir Donald Runnicles studied at the University of Edinburgh and St John’s College, Cambridge, before beginning his career as a singers’ coach and assistant conductor in Mannheim, Germany. He has been

Just two decades after the premiere of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, the Soviet Union paid a New York opera company to stage performances there. The year was 1956 and the Cold War was well underwa

CONCERT HEAVEN Careful the tale you tell Kitty Whately (mezzo-soprano), Simon Lepper (piano) et al Wigmore Hall (December 2020) My ‘Concert Heaven’ choice is a recital called ‘Careful the tale you tel

Is there a special sorcery in Seoul? Cunning creativity in Canada? Preternatural pizzazz in Paris? Oh, why do so many great pianists come from this or that country? We even have some in Britain; is th